explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:202: YouTube

2021-09-02T07:05:14Z

162.158.106.179: Added comment to discussion

In the transcript, it says simpleplan2009's comment was posted 3 minutes ago. However, in the image, it clearly says 5 minutes. [[User:Caagr98|Caagr98]] ([[User talk:Caagr98|talk]]) 19:01, 17 April 2013 (UTC)
:I agree. In theory a 3 and a 5 could be hand-written to be hard to differentiate, but here it is clear. Changed. (And added the first line.) [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 10:56, 19 April 2013 (UTC)
::Changed it back, as the actual transcript on the comic page (as seen in the webpage source, and upon which the comic searches are based) says "3". I've added the reasoning in the explanation. [[User:NixillUmbreon|NixillUmbreon]] ([[User talk:NixillUmbreon|talk]]) 15:31, 20 January 2014 (UTC)
:::The image is the first source for the transcript here. Randall's transcript simply doesn't match the image.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:11, 20 January 2014 (UTC)

On Gunpistolman's comment, is [http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~det/phy2060/heavyboots.html the heavy boots story] worth a mention? [[User:B jonas|B jonas]] ([[User talk:B jonas|talk]]) 16:31, 1 November 2013 (UTC)
:Not needing a mention in the explanation, but thank you for the link. Richard Feynman would be glowing in his grave at the state of science education in this country. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.223}}
:Frankly, oh God that is TERRIBLE. The PHYSICS STUDENTS thought that light items float on the Moon but heavy things don't? That... That's worse than the Flat Earth Society! [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 23:17, 5 March 2018 (UTC)

The British sketch comedy TV show ''That Mitchell and Webb Look'' has an excellent [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6MOnehCOUw Moon Landing Sketch] with similar humor to this joke. [[User:Beolach|Beolach]] ([[User talk:Beolach|talk]]) 22:18, 31 March 2014 (UTC)

I think that it's possible the video is the Astronaut music video by Simple Plan. Led to believe it by the username simpleplan2009 {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.124}}

American sheep are very offended by this. if sheep could read. --[[User:Dalonacueball|Dalonacueball]] ([[User talk:Dalonacueball|talk]]) 17:27, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

I'm with GradeAUnderA on this one... FOR YOUTUBE! http://www.prdaily.com/Uploads/Public/exclamation-mark-yelling.jpg FOR YOUTUBE FOR YOUTUBE FOR YOUTUBE. I'm way too much of a 'tuber

All of the comments in the comic are actual YouTube comments, taken from the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vml7pZJujF0 (although the usernames were changed, presumably to protect the stupid). Should that be mentioned in the description? [[User:HiddenWindshield|HiddenWindshield]] ([[User talk:HiddenWindshield|talk]]) 20:44, 19 July 2015 (UTC)

Might the last comment be in reference to the SMBC comic http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=120 (which came out a few years before this xkcd)? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.104|108.162.215.104]] 20:44, 23 October 2015 (UTC)

The comic did not copy the YouTube video comments, rather the other way round. I updated the explanation to add this.[[User:Jojonete|Jojonete]] ([[User talk:Jojonete|talk]]) 23:29, 4 November 2015 (UTC)

Do we really need a citation for "humans haven't landed on Mars"? Seriously? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.164|108.162.215.164]] 17:45, 27 June 2016 (UTC)
:Citation needed is a recurring joke. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.88|162.158.78.88]] 18:03, 16 March 2017 (UTC)

Since the very first time I read this panel, I have wished that the alt-text gave a reply to the 'Americans are Sheep' comment: "I did not have sexual relations with that sheep! -BillClintonPOTUS"[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.127|172.68.54.127]] 03:56, 16 November 2016 (UTC)
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.127|172.68.54.127]] 03:53, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

I have observed that the Lunar Module in this comic looks like a butt. This is very important information. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.88|162.158.126.88]] 09:41, 22 July 2019 (UTC)

As a frequent YouTube user, I can clarify that the comments have gotten better over the years. (Not sure about 4chan though.) {{unsigned ip| }}
:No. Just, no. {{User:PoolloverNathan/Signature}} 17:56, 19 March 2021 (UTC) 

Would it make sense to list the specific grammar errors made in each comment? I think this is an important part of the joke [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.179|162.158.106.179]] 07:05, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2509: Useful Geometry Formulas

2021-08-31T06:49:55Z

162.158.106.179: /* Does the bottom-left formula have a mistake? */ Oh, right; good call!

Area formulas are for 2D object as seen instead of surface of a projected 3D object. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.200|162.158.89.200]] 02:36, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

The "decorative stripes and dotted lines" are the parts of the diagrams that are intended to indicate the third dimension. The conceit of the comic is that these are superfluous. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:56, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Ca someone explain how the last one works? [[User:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e]] ([[User talk:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|talk]]) 04:28, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

: ''bh'' is the area of the front face. The top face is a parallelogram with sides ''d'' and ''b'', with an angle of ''θ'' between them, so its area is ''d b sin(θ)''. The right face is a parallelogram with sides ''d'' and ''h'', with an angle of ''90º - θ'' between them, so its area is ''h d sin(90º - θ) = h d cos(θ)''. So the area of the whole picture is ''bh + d b sin(θ) + d h cos(θ)''.
: --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.24.165|172.68.24.165]] 04:46, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

:: In case you don't know the area of a parallelogram by heart, you can read d b sin(θ) as b * d sin(θ), where d sin(θ) is the height of the parallelogram; if you cut the right corner of the parallelogram off and add it on the left, you get a rectangle where the bottom side is b and the height is that d sin(θ), so it works out. The other parallelogram's area is h * d cos(θ), with the same reasoning. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.241|162.158.90.241]] 05:00, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Funnily enough, both this comic and [[2506]] are about projection. [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 05:11, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

: I had considered working that into the explanation, but that needs to account for the fact that the indicated measurements (e.g. the angle θ) have to be read in 2D, not in 3D and projected. But it would be correct to say that the 2D shapes are projections of simple 3D objects. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.149|162.158.90.149]] 05:23, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

== <s>Does the bottom-left formula have a mistake?</s> ==

It seems like the bottom-left formula should be ''A''=''d''(''πr''+''h'') rather than ''A''=''d''(''πr''/2+''h''), because there are two half-ellipses that add up to a complete ellipse. Am I missing something? (This doesn't ''seem'' like an extra joke, does it?) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.179|162.158.106.179]] 05:28, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

: No, it's correct. ''d'' is all of the major axis, not just half, so we have to divide that by ''2''. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.83|162.158.92.83]] 05:51, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

:: Oh, right; good call! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.179|162.158.106.179]] 06:49, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

== Does the top-right formula have a mistake? ==

I think it should be in brackets, the top triangle area needs the ''1/2'' also, so it should be: ''A''=''1/2(πab + bh)''

No, it's correct. The bottom is a half ellipse, with area ''1/2 π a b'', and the top is a triangle with base ''2 b'' and height ''h'', so its area is ''1/2 2b h = bh''. The total area is ''1/2 π a b + b h''.
--[[Special:Contributions/172.68.25.144|172.68.25.144]] 06:49, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2509: Useful Geometry Formulas

2021-08-31T05:28:37Z

162.158.106.179: /* Does the bottom-left formula have a mistake? */ new section

Area formulas are for 2D object as seen instead of surface of a projected 3D object. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.200|162.158.89.200]] 02:36, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

The "decorative stripes and dotted lines" are the parts of the diagrams that are intended to indicate the third dimension. The conceit of the comic is that these are superfluous. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:56, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Ca someone explain how the last one works? [[User:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e]] ([[User talk:GcGYSF(asterisk)P(vertical line)e|talk]]) 04:28, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

: ''bh'' is the area of the front face. The top face is a parallelogram with sides ''d'' and ''b'', with an angle of ''θ'' between them, so its area is ''d b sin(θ)''. The right face is a parallelogram with sides ''d'' and ''h'', with an angle of ''90º - θ'' between them, so its area is ''h d sin(90º - θ) = h d cos(θ)''. So the area of the whole picture is ''bh + d b sin(θ) + d h cos(θ)''.
: --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.24.165|172.68.24.165]] 04:46, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

:: In case you don't know the area of a parallelogram by heart, you can read d b sin(θ) as b * d sin(θ), where d sin(θ) is the height of the parallelogram; if you cut the right corner of the parallelogram off and add it on the left, you get a rectangle where the bottom side is b and the height is that d sin(θ), so it works out. The other parallelogram's area is h * d cos(θ), with the same reasoning. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.241|162.158.90.241]] 05:00, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Funnily enough, both this comic and [[2506]] are about projection. [[User:CRLF|CRLF]] ([[User talk:CRLF|talk]]) 05:11, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

: I had considered working that into the explanation, but that needs to account for the fact that the indicated measurements (e.g. the angle θ) have to be read in 2D, not in 3D and projected. But it would be correct to say that the 2D shapes are projections of simple 3D objects. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.149|162.158.90.149]] 05:23, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

== Does the bottom-left formula have a mistake? ==

It seems like the bottom-left formula should be ''A''=''d''(''πr''+''h'') rather than ''A''=''d''(''πr''/2+''h''), because there are two half-ellipses that add up to a complete ellipse. Am I missing something? (This doesn't ''seem'' like an extra joke, does it?) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.179|162.158.106.179]] 05:28, 31 August 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2500: Global Temperature Over My Lifetime

2021-08-27T18:26:33Z

162.158.106.179: Exxon document validity citation

The DgbrtBOT seems to be broken again. I created the page for this comic, and the previous comic explanation was also created manually. [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 18:00, 9 August 2021 (UTC)

Retired old guy here, I'm puzzled by the usage in the title text, "Then I realized, oh, right, of course." Is this meant to imply that Exxon controlled the use of petroleum over this time period, instead of just predicting the usage? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.225|172.70.130.225]] 18:16, 9 August 2021 (UTC)
:I think it just means that if anyone's going to have accurate data to predict petroleum use (such as supply levels), it would be a petroleum company.
:I assume Randall realized hindsight bias was in play: that the report only became famous after it turned out to have predicted accurately. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.203|162.158.88.203]] 19:48, 9 August 2021 (UTC)
:I do not mean to argue any politics in this reply. I can relate that I have heard occasionally from people on both sides of political lines that the large energy corporations organise together to plan energy use and prices. I do not know whether that is true, and have not seen hard evidence of it. An economics professor told me it is obvious from the behaviors of the prices. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 11:36, 10 August 2021 (UTC)
_ _ _ _
\ / / \ / \ th comic
| |_ | | | |
/ \ | | | |
/__ __/ \_/ \_/
--[[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.108|198.41.238.108]] 19:14, 9 August 2021 (UTC)
:It seems like Randall has more serious issues on his mind than marking a meaningless milestone. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:45, 9 August 2021 (UTC)
::What's so 'milestoney' about the number 0x9C4? Maybe we could talk about this in another 0x63C comics...
::(Also, as non-retired, but arguably being a well-beyond-middle-aged-guy chronologically if not mentally, this comic now makes me feel old. I thought Randall was maybe up to a decade older, much closer to my age.)
::((Also also, how long before someone goes down the "climate is always changing!" line, conveniently forgetting about [[1732]]?)) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.97|162.158.159.97]] 23:42, 9 August 2021 (UTC)
:::I'm the opposite; this comic made me realise that Randall is closer to my age than I thought, as I'd assumed he was a bit older. I was born in 1991, so although I was younger at the time, most of the "climate change alarm" milestones are the same ones I remember. --[[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 10:03, 10 August 2021 (UTC)
:::How about he does the milestone at 0xaaa
:::: 6561 comics? --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.109|198.41.238.109]] 18:36, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

Can I just point out to people that there are [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2500:_Global_Temperature_Over_My_Lifetime&diff=next&oldid=216302 ok-ish ways and better ways] to link to things? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.21|141.101.76.21]] 00:17, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

The alt text states "I was really impressed by the accuracy of some of the report's predictions about fossil fuel consumption. Then I realized, oh, right, of course.". Why of course? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.87|172.70.114.87]] 02:01, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

:Probably because Exxon is also a player in the fossil fuel industry? Similar to Moore's law, from the co-founder of both Faichild and Intel? That might be a little of the conspiracy theory side, especially with the way it is phrased.
[[User:Victor|Victor]] ([[User talk:Victor|talk]]) 08:58, 10 August 2021 (UTC)
:It implies a fossil fuel company will be inherently better at determining consumption of their product than, say, a baker. If a bakery were asked to study fossil fuel consumption they would have little common ground between this topic and their area of expertise (baking). But if they were asked about the consumption of cake they could probably consult records they already had on hand. After all, a company in the business of selling a consumable material (either oil or baked goods) needs to know this information in order to know how much to produce on a given day to meet demand and make a profit without over-producing and bankrupting themselves. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.63|162.158.63.63]] 23:22, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

:Someone else asked the same question further up. And yeah, I wondered that too. This (from an unsigned contributor above) was my best guess too:

{{Quote|I think it just means that if anyone's going to have accurate data to predict petroleum use (such as supply levels), it would be a petroleum company.}}

:--[[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 10:03, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

:: Thank you for the answer and sorry for the duplicate question! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.73|172.70.114.73]] 12:59, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

Has anybody glanced through the study? Maybe I misread it, but I was thinking Randall might have linked the wrong one, because it looked like it was saying far more than 40 years to me. [[User:Baffo32|Baffo32]] ([[User talk:Baffo32|talk]]) 11:38, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

: Figure 3, which apparently comes from a previous Exxon study, shows about 40 years for 1C increase. [[User:Vdm|Vdm]] ([[User talk:Vdm|talk]]) 20:39, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

"Randall's most famous comic so far 1732: Earth Temperature Timeline." - Is there a source for this factoid? I suspect speculation as, possibly depending on which circles you are in, there are others that are more famous, more well-known, or more frequently quoted. A few that come to mind include Sandwich, Exploits of a Mom, Compiling, Wikipedian Protester (which I'm taking the liberty to apply here), Money, Up-Goer Five, Time. If there is a source, please add the reference. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.199|172.69.71.199]] 15:16, 10 August 2021 (UTC)
: I also doubt that it is the most famous xkcd comic. Many other of the comics have been made into posters and t-shirts, but I couldn't find any t-shirts with the Earth Temperature Timeline on it. So let's scratch that statement from the explanation. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:06, 11 August 2021 (UTC)

== Missing Link? ==

As of this writing, this page is missing the "next" link, even though 2,501 is already out. I'm not quite sure how to fix this, can someone who knows how do it? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.73|172.70.114.73]] 00:59, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

== Exxon document validity citation? ==

Does anyone have a citation confirming that the Exxon document actually came from Exxon? The best I've been able to find is https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16092015/exxons-own-research-confirmed-fossil-fuels-role-in-global-warming/ but I've not found anything proving that someone didn't simply create a document that looked as if it was written in 1982... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.179|162.158.106.179]] 18:26, 27 August 2021 (UTC)